LIVING FAITH

THE FEAST OF THE

TRANSFIGURATION OF THE LORD

THE GOSPEL FOR TODAY

Matthew 17: 1-9

Six days later, Jesus took with him Peter and James and his brother John and led them up a high
mountain, by themselves. And he was transfigured before them, and his face shone like the sun, and his
clothes became dazzling white. Suddenly there appeared to them Moses and Elijah, talking with
him. Then Peter said to Jesus, 'Lord, it is good for us to be here; if you wish, I will make three
dwellings here, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.' While he was still speaking, suddenly a
bright cloud overshadowed them, and from the cloud a voice said, 'This is my Son, the Beloved; with him
I am well pleased; listen to him!' When the disciples heard this, they fell to the ground and were
overcome by fear. But Jesus came and touched them, saying, 'Get up and do not be afraid.' And when
they looked up, they saw no one except Jesus himself alone.

As they were coming down the mountain, Jesus ordered them, 'Tell no one about the vision until after
the Son of Man has been raised from the dead.'

REFLECTION ON THE GOSPEL

When Jesus was transfigured, "his face shone like the sun." We sometimes forget
that Jesus did not transfigure Himself; He was transfigured by God. On that
mountain, God transfigured Jesus, and allowed Peter, James and John to witness this
great event.

God reaches into every human life and transfigures us; we have shared in that
wondrous moment that God gave to Jesus! How does God transfigure us? Through
love, through the human experience of love. The author Victor Hugo wrote, "To love
another person is to see the face of God." God transfigures us when we love and are
loved. You have experienced this. You know that when you love somebody, you see
them in a way that is different from anybody else. You know how wonderful it feels
when you are the apple of someone else's eye. Love transfigures us. God is love. When
you love somebody else, they see the face of God. When you are loved, you see the
face of God. Through love, we are transfigured, changed, to go out and share that
love with the world.

Thank you to Fr. Greg Carruthers SJ and Rebecca Rathbone of the Canadian Catholic Organization for Development and Peace for their contributions to this week's
edition of Living Faith.
 JESUS IS TRANSFIGURED
In the Gospel that we heard proclaimed today, Jesus heard the voice of God saying,
'This is my Son, the Beloved; with him I am well pleased." Can you imagine God saying
these very words to you?
'You are my Son, my Daughter, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased."
God's love transfigures us. When we love one another,
God is revealed to us in a very special way.
To love another person is to see the face of God.
Who shows you the love of God?
To whom do you show the love of God?

©2017 Roman Catholic Archdiocese of St. John's. All Rights Reserved.

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I I
THE MYSTERY OF FAITH:
THE MYSTERY OF JESUS CHRIST- WHO IS HE?
(part 1)
Reflections by Fr. Gregory Carruthers, SJ

In what sense is Jesus truly human? In what sense is Jesus truly divine? On the cross
when Jesus says "I thirst", who is the "I" that is thirsting, a human "I" or a divine "I"?

The Church summarizes the Mystery of Jesus revealed in the New Testament, this way:
Jesus is one Divine Person in two natures (a fully divine nature and a fully human nature).

The one Divine Person means that whenever Jesus says "I" it is a Divine "I" that is
speaking, that is, it is a Divine Person who is speaking. Precisely, the Divine Person is the
Second Person of the Trinity (the Eternal Word of God/the Eternal Son of God). When
Jesus says, "I am the Bread of Life" or "I am the Resurrection and the Life" or "I thirst", it
is always the one and same Divine Person who is speaking.

But what about the "in two natures"? Next week, we will reflect on this...
 CATHOLIC SOCIAL TEACHING
Humans are created in the image and
likeness of God. The Church calls for
Integral Human Development, which
addresses the whole person (social,
economic, political, ecological,
spiritual) and every person.
How we live affects the dignity of the
individual and the progress of
society. All persons are entitled to
participate in community and in
decisions that affect their lives, and
cannot be excluded for any reason.
The moral test of any society is based
on how the most vulnerable are
treated. This does not call us to focus
on the poor to the exclusion of
others, but simply to prioritize those
who are in most need of solidarity.
PEACE . .;
I
To be in right relationship with God
and with each other. Peace is the
fruit of Charity and the consequence
of Justice. It is the sign of caritas
('love') in action!
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We are all part of the human family
and we are all interconnected and
interdependent. We must see
ourselves in others and collaborate
toward solutions. We are all in this
together!
The economy must serve people, and
not the other way around. All
persons have a right to dignified
work, and to fair wages and working
conditions. Working is a form of
participating in Creation!
The state is an instrument to build
human dignity, human rights, and the
common good. Such functions of
government should be performed at
the lowest level possible, so that
everyone may participate
To discover how you can put these Catholic Social Teachings into
meaningful action, visit www.devp.org/sharelent!
Development and Peace is the official
Humanitarian Aid and Development
organization of the Catholic Church in
Canada, and the Canadian member of
Caritas Internationalis - the official Aid
and Development arm of the Catholic
Church, headquartered in the Vatican.
The Earth is sacred. Creation has its
own intrinsic value. We have a
responsibility to protect and to
cherish the Earth's ecological
diversity, beauty, and life-sustaining
properties.
We must all consider the good of
others, and the good of the whole
human family. We must love our
neighbours, locally and globally, and
prioritize the human family over
commercial interests
Rights arise from what we need to
live as God intended us to. These are
innately linked to our responsibility
to ensure the rights of others - to not
take more than we need, at the
expense of others.
1!
••
Development
and Peace ., · ••,,
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